for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare. Raoul Richard (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Supplies. 30 March 1943 Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Minister of State. 6 June 1944 Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Head of the Mission for Civil Affairs. Role The government in exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government, but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers, leading Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London". The British diplomatic mission to Belgium, under Ambassador Lancelot Oliphant, was attached to the government in exile. In March 1941, the Americans also sent an Ambassador, Anthony Biddle Jr., to represent the United States to the governments in exile of Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway. The Soviet Union, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Belgium in May 1941 (heavily influenced by the then-in force Nazi-Soviet Pact), re-established its legation to the government in exile in the aftermath of the German invasion and eventually expanded it to the rank of Embassy in 1943. Belgian refugees One of the most pressing concerns facing the government in exile in 1940 was the situation of Belgian refugees in the United Kingdom. By 1940, at least 15,000 Belgian civilians had arrived in the United Kingdom, many of them without their possessions. The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government, however in September 1940, the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain. The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940, because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in 1940. A British Mass Observation report noted a "growing feeling against Belgian refugees" in the United Kingdom, closely linked to Leopold III's decision to surrender. The government was also involved in the provision of social, educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees. In 1942, the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London. By 1943, there were also four Belgian schools in Britain with 330 pupils between them, in Penrith, Braemar, Kingston and Buxton. Free Belgian forces In a broadcast on French Radio, shortly after the Belgian surrender, Pierlot called for the creation of an army-in-exile to continue the fight: With some Belgian troops rescued from Dunkirk